ZippyRulz

A new era is dawning for The University of Akron and its football program. At its regular meeting today, the University's Board of Trustees approved the financing and construction plans for a $55 million, on-campus football stadium as part of the second phase of the New Landscape for Learning campus enhancement initiative. Construction of the stadium and field — named InfoCision Stadium and Summa Field, respectively — is scheduled to be complete for the Zips' 2009 home opener against the University of Kentucky Wildcats on Sept. 12. As in other buildings constructed in UA's ongoing campus enhancement, the stadium features a bold design of brick and glass. The stadium will be financed by a $30 million fund-raising campaign (of which $21 million already has been pledged) and bonds financed via stadium revenues. "This is an exciting time for The University of Akron, and fans of Zips football," says UA President Luis M. Proenza. "An on-campus football stadium is one of the cornerstone facilities that will enhance the collegiate experience. This new facility will create a game-day atmosphere that will generate a new level of excitement, spirit and pride for the University and Zips athletics." UA Board Chair Dr. William F. Demas says, "We are extending our New Landscape for Learning initiative into its second phase by moving forward with the campus stadium project. Our fans and community members have been asking for this for a long time, and we have found a way to make the dream come true. "Not only will the stadium provide a proud home to the Akron Zips football team," he adds, "it will provide countless opportunities to our students and to the community by hosting special events, intramural and high school sports, and various recreational activities." Details about the stadium released today include: Capacity of 30,000, with the possibility of end-zone seats added in the future;End-zone grass berm seating;A club level with seating for 486;172 open-air loge seats;15 private suites with seating for 16 each, and a President's Suite with seating for 75;300 ADA seat locations;21 heated restrooms with ADA access and baby-changing stations;A state-of-the-art scoreboard with video screen, and a sound system with speakers throughout the stadium, concourse and restrooms;10 concession locations, a full team shop, a second merchandise location, a ticket office and two auxiliary ticket booths;Academic classrooms and labs that will be in use six days per week; andRooms for academic advising and tutoring for student-athletes.The condition of the aging Rubber Bowl and the rising costs of maintenance or refurbishing of the facility to modern-day standards made the decision to build a new stadium a necessity, according to Mack Rhoades, UA director of athletics."This elite facility will be a wonderful destination for Zips fans of all ages, and I expect it will gain attention and admiration not just throughout the Mid-American Conference, but nationwide as well," Rhoades says. "More importantly, it will provide a great benefit to the University, the athletics department and the football program."The Rubber Bowl has been a landmark in our community," he adds. "But a recent poll of our season ticket holders showed that the location, condition and amenities of this facility are discouraging fans from attending games and enjoying what should be a great family experience. "I believe this on-campus facility will be a great change in our campus culture. There are few things as exciting than the atmosphere surrounding a college football game day," Rhoades says. "To have 30,000 people walking around our campus, seeing kids throwing a football in parking lots and grass areas, and the smell of food from tailgating is one of those quintessential collegiate experiences."

Did just the one bottle do the trick for you then?

Info on the game & broadcasts:http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_...;ATCLID=1312504

There's a new movie out about the Zips offense:

We need VB to not get pummelled in the MAC...Mike wasn't getting us that. Thanks for trying, Mike, good luck in the future. Welcome to UA, new VB coach, whoever you may be.

If only we had a QB that could throw the ball downfield...

Miami is all over the east-west running and screen passes. Got to quit beating our heads against the wall

http://www.vindy.com/content/opinion/edito...66449170555.php"The only thing that seems to endanger this highly successful medical school is regional politics. There are some political forces in Cleveland who apparently believe that anything good that happens in Northeastern Ohio must be located in Cleveland. Time for it to end It is incumbent on Gov. Ted Strickland and his chancellor of higher education, Eric Fingerhut, to squelch this Cleveland-centric nonsense. That they have allowed the movement to get this far is a more than troublesome because nonsense is the perfect word for the assault on NEOUCOM. It simply makes no sense to undercut this medical school, which was created to produce physicians who would practice family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology at a community level. And is doing just that. "

Anyone who watched the game on ESPN saw plenty of views of empty stadium. Even the center of the home side was quite empty towards the end of the game even with the Zips winning. It was nice seeing the light poles out of there and it would be nice if we just kept them out and played the rest of our home games in daylight. They did a nice little segment towards the end about the new stadium with pictures and emphasizing that it will put football back on campus which will create a new environment. They also did a little segment on the Nat'l Soap Box Derby track with video from their truck driving down the hill. They also showed the WMU runback with the French/Stams call and then showed them in their booth. They also went to St. V-M and showed Lebron's retired jersey but I was surprised they had no idea who Jerome Lane was...that was his jersey next to Lebron's, wasn't it? I thought ESPN did a good job, it's just too bad with the previous losses we wasted the opportunity for it to be a meaningful game on national TV.

15 unanswered points and counting...

Geesh...we're already linked to the USO site from http://www.uakron.edu/. I guess it's not taking us long to fall into line which surprises me a little. I thought there would be more foot-dragging than that given the CSU situation.What gripes me though is that under Administration/Capital Planning & Facilities they haven't updated the project status and photos since January. Some of us out of towners would like to be able to keep up with what's going on. Come on webmaster, this is rinky-dink.

CF would probably have needed an ideal situation to develop into a true NFL QB...good team, good coaches, a good mentor QB & more time before getting thrown in. Would he have thrived in such a situation? We'll never know, so no one can really be proven right or wrong about him. Now he has some baggage of having had to struggle with the Browns which is another obstacle to overcome. He got some practice PT last week with Seattle so he still has a chance to prove he belongs on the team going forward. It will be interesting to see what Holmgren can do with him. And he's still only a couple of injuries away from more game time. I'm not declaring his career finished yet.

Thank you.It goes beyond the AD right up to Dr. P. It is also bigger than that (the alumni and NE Ohio community), but I could write a book.When those guys from Cincinnati were here, they did nothing to retain better athletes by improving academic support. We are largely in the position we are BECAUSE of them. JD's first two recruiting classes happened under their watch and they knew we were bringing in at risk students and put nothing in place to support them. Doesn't seem very foresightful to me. It didn't happen the day they walked out the door. Their hands are not clean on this matter. Their answer was to improve academics by bringing in "better students" which resulted in the disaster that was the final three-four years of the Owens years.Cincinnati is doing well this year. Although, we could get 22 guys off this board and beat USF when they turn the ball over 7 times. We'll see if Thomas can keep it up or if he will do the smart thing and move to an even bigger school with more money. Those guys only had one really good sporting year at Akron. We'll see if that continues at Cincinnati. The trick they all seem to play is to move before they get discovered. There is a lot of smoke and mirrors in college athletics. You guys need to be much more cynical about what goes on in the offices than you all are.That's very interesting and makes sense. How do you think the other MAC schools stack up in regard to their athlete support systems? If this is the key to success it should be common knowledge around all of college FB...why haven't UA's coaches, AD's and president figured it out? Or is it just a matter of (lack of) budget?

From "Summit's Glory" by George Knepper (p.95):"As enrollment grew and the Municipal University fielded better athletic teams, students demanded a mascot, or a nickname, or both. They got the nickname, but not the mascot. Student Margaret Hamlin won a 1927 contest with her suggestion of "Zippers," a popular new brand of overshoes..."

http://universitysystem.ohio.gov/index.php

I think we're putting the cart before the horse here. We're not building a stadium for JD or because of JD. The stadium was needed / desired before JD arrived and will be here long after JD is gone. Mack reiterated on the broadcast last night that the design & engineering are on track to break ground in 2 months and have the construction done for Sep. 09. A few of the players being recruited this fall will be on the field for the opening. Most all of the players recruited next year by whomever will not. That doesn't give a new coach "a couple of seasons to right the ship before the stadium opens". IMO, nothing will be decided before we see how this recruiting class turns out now that we have a firm stadium plan with renderings to show off. If we keep JD, the program will get better because of the new facilities. If we replace JD we may get even better with a new coach but not in 1 year and therefore I don't see the athl. dept. eating his remaining contract. Unfortunately for JD, his future as a 1a HC anywhere else may be running into the ground.

I assume 1350am will be carrying Zips basketball this season(?) I further assume they will also make the broadcasts available via their internet web site(?) ZipsZone says Wednesdays game v. Ohio is at OU which I know is wrong. It also says Thursdays exhibition game with Walsh is at Walsh which I assume is also wrong...can someone confirm it's at the JAR?

I see there's no link for video of tonight's game on ZipsZone but the schedule says it will be on ESPNU. Video of the Buffalo, Temple & WMU games was carried on z/z...maybe there's still a chance for the BG game(?)

It definitely sounds like a jab at UA (as in CSU will take us over and the football program is expendable) and Dr. P ("his" stadium, like no one else wants it or cares about it). Ellen A. is probably poisoned by the Cleveland politics, jealousy of UA's progress v. CSU's and resentment of LP for standing up for UA against the politicians.If they try to railroad us with this merger I think it could become a big stinkbomb for Strickland across the state, possibly even further. Other schools will see the writing on the wall that they could be the next to be told what to do for better or worse.

That's hilarious for so many reasons:1) It did sound like SF & FS. When they retire, I think we've found their replacements.2) With 2 seconds left on the clock, that play took about 3 minutes. What if they had fumbled on that last pitch? Doh !!3) How are you theoretically supposed to defend something like that? Man assignment? Zone? Prevent? Why isn't that play run regularly during a game? It would probably be worth a try on our 3rd or 4th down situations.4) I think all the refs just had to watch the ball to make sure the laterals were legal...if there was a bad block or hold it was probably missed but rest assured the losing team coaches will review the film until they find one.I just hope Trinity doesn't follow up this dramatic win with a couple of disappointing losses like another certain team I know.

Formation of Northeast Ohio Universities Cabinet [Tactical, Immediate] The Commission recommends the legislature form a Northeast Ohio Universities Cabinet, consisting of the Board Chairs of each of the institutions, the President of each of the institutions, and a Chairperson, preferably a regional leader with no formal association with any of the member institutions, appointed by the Governor. This Cabinet should: • Provide oversight of the implementation of the Commission's recommendations, providing an annual accountability report to the Governor, Legislature, and the Chancellor. • Seek additional opportunities for collaboration and consolidation, so as to increase access and excellence. • Pursue partnerships with business, education and government. • Create a structure for meetings of the Provosts, the CFO's and CIO's on a regular basis. • The Cabinet should meet at least twice a year. Once appointed, the Chair would convene the group.

CSU Pres comments: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/...&thispage=1 Study Commission minutes: http://www.neostudycommission.org/docs.htm

Read the comment from Lincoln Park Sam. What a jackass! Someone had a nice comment back to him though. It's the same dork that's been on here before with the same refrain...very threatened by LP, very much afraid of Tosu having to compete and share some of the state budget with the other state universities. He doesn't really care about what's best for Ohioans...only what's best for The Central Ohio Regional University to the detriment of all the others.

Next Stop: The University of Akron, Cleveland campus

It's good for our conference that Buffalo and Temple are doing well and raising the bar, something we are not doing. There's no point in wishing the other teams to be bad, that doesn't help our growth in the long run. We just need to do whatever it takes to get better, like build a new stadium...